Synthetic ice surfaces are used in a variety of environments and offer distinct advantages over natural ice. Synthetic surfaces can be installed indoors or outdoors and do not require the same level of upkeep or constant refrigeration required of natural ice. This leads synthetic ice surfaces to be usable year round and in climates where natural ice surfaces would be impractical to install and/or maintain.
A typical synthetic ice surface consists of a plurality of panels installed over a sub-floor or directly onto the ground if the environmental conditions are acceptable for installation. Given that synthetic ice surfaces inherently have seams where the panels are joined, it is important to have panels which fit as tightly as possible in order to prevent accidents which may occur if a skating blade becomes caught in a seam. Seams are not an issue with natural ice as once the rink surface panels are installed, the frozen surface is formed on top of the panels resulting in a seamless surface. Given that synthetic ice surfaces can be installed outdoors in varying climates they are likely to experience expansion and contraction according to the season, location and time of day in which skating activities take place. Expansion and contraction of seam joints is undesirable as it can lead to the opening of the panel seams and risk catching a skating blade during use of the surface. Thus, there is a need to design a synthetic ice surface panel whose seam joints are resistant to expansion and contraction.
Prior attempts to design synthetic ice surface panels have been made. Typically, these solutions employ various mechanisms or devices to engage with the panels and maintain each panel in close proximity to the other. These systems, while effective, require the installation of additional parts and complicate the fabrication process of the panels themselves. Thus, there is a need for a synthetic ice surface panel having an integrated expansion control system without reliance on additional parts for maintaining the integrity of the synthetic ice surface once installed.